chapter 17 tools of monetary policy. copyright © 2007 pearson addison-wesley. all rights reserved....

Chapter 17

Tools of Monetary Policy

Copyright © 2007 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 15-2

Tools of Monetary Policy

• Open market operations Affect the quantity of reserves and the monetary base

• Changes in borrowed reserves Affect the monetary base

• Changes in reserve requirements Affect the money multiplier

• Federal funds rate—the interest rate on overnight loans of reserves from one bank to another

Primary indicator of the stance of monetary policy


Demand in the Market for Reserves

• What happens to the quantity of reserves demanded, holding everything else constant, as the federal funds rate changes?

• Two components: required reserves and excess reserves

Excess reserves are insurance against deposit outflows The cost of holding these is the interest rate that could have

been earned

• As the federal funds rate decreases, the opportunity cost of holding excess reserves falls and the quantity of reserves demanded rises

• Downward sloping demand curve


Supply in the Market for Reserves

• Two components: non-borrowed and borrowed reserves

• Cost of borrowing from the Fed is the discount rate

• Borrowing from the Fed is a substitute for borrowing from other banks

• If iff < id, then banks will not borrow from the Fed and borrowed reserves are zero

• The supply curve will be vertical

• As iff rises above id, banks will borrow more and more at id, and re-lend at iff

• The supply curve is horizontal (perfectly elastic) at id


Affecting the Federal Funds Rate

• An open market purchase causes the federal funds rate to fall; an open market sale causes the federal funds rate to rise shifting the supply curve

• If the intersection of supply and demand occurs on the vertical section of the supply curve, a change in the discount rate will have no effect on the federal funds rate


Affecting the Federal Funds Rate (cont’d)

• If the intersection of supply and demand occurs on the horizontal section of the supply curve, a change in the discount rate shifts that portion of the supply curve and the federal funds rate may either rise or fall depending on the change in the discount rate

• When the Fed raises reserve requirement, the federal funds rate rises and when the Fed decreases reserve requirement, the federal funds rate falls shifting the demand curve

chapter 17 tools of monetary policy. copyright © 2007 pearson addison-wesley. all rights reserved....

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